A Good Printer is Next to Godliness

The creation and production of any brochure, flyer or bit of stationery is a tale of two halves. The graphic designer comes up with look and feel of the piece, and then turns it over to a printer to complete the equation. In the UK, there are a plethora of printers willing to accept my designs for a fee. And over the course of six years in the UK, I have interacted with a number of them. I can definitively report that some are better than others.

Before I list my preferred suppliers, let me offer two links where readers can familiarise themselves with the different types of printing I reference in this post:

Litho Printing
Digital Printing
(Note: I figure that oversize printing is pretty self-explanatory, hence no link for that.)

So, where to turn for your printing needs?  Let me make a few recommendations:

Litho Printing:
For all of my litho printing, I use Saints & Co., in Liverpool. Their professionalism, quality of print, reliability, technical skill and knowledge and customer care are miles ahead of their competitors. Their pricing is competitive. I’ve been sending artwork to Saints for more than 5 years running, and I can honestly say that they have never let me down.

Saints & Co can be reached on 0151 475 4100. Tell them I sent you.

Digital Printing:
I’ve two recommendations for digi print jobs. The first is my regular, London-based supplier, Hobs Reprographics. In particular, their Eagle Street office is outstanding. They know their machines and get the best out of them. Their professionalism and reliability have made me look good to my clients time after time. Their pricing is competitive for London. (I have to admit that some of their other branches have not lived up to the Eagle Street standards.)

My second recommendation is 1st Byte, also in London. Although on the pricier side, 1st Byte have unsurpassed technical skill and top-rate machines. They are true artisans. They can handle all sorts of digi runs, but I tend to use them on short-run, high-end projects.

Oversize Printing:
I stumbled upon LTD Limited shortly after I arrived in the UK. Based in East London, LTD Limited say ‘if you can design it, we can produce it’ and I have to agree. They do the most amazing print work on all sorts of materials and objects. In fact, on one job for me, not only did they print the posters for window displays, they almost crafted the mounts for the displays! Quality of print, attention to detail and customer care are these guys calling cards. Every time I need them, they always impress me.